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Saturday, February 09, 2013

Two California Men Indicted in Federal Hate Crime Case Stemming from New Year’s Eve Attack on African-American Youths

A federal grand jury has indicted two members of the Compton 155 street
gang on federal hate crime charges related to a racially motivated
attack on four African-American juveniles at a residence in the city of
Compton, Calif., on New Year’s Eve.

Jeffrey Aguilar, aka “Terco,” 19, and Efren Marquez Jr., who is also
known as “Stretch” and “Junior,” 21, were named in a five-count
indictment returned late yesterday by the grand jury.

The indictment specifically charges Aguilar and Marquez with one count
of conspiracy to interfere with housing rights and four counts of
interfering with housing rights. The indictment alleges that they
attempted to intimidate African-Americans from living in Compton.

Aguilar and Marquez allegedly are members of the Compton 155 street
gang, which uses violence and threats of violence in an effort to drive
African-Americans out of their “territory” on the west side of Compton.
According to the indictment, members of the Compton 155 gang often refer
to themselves as “NK” or “N***** Killers.” To instill fear in
African-Americans, members of the gang tag their gang moniker and “NK”
throughout their “territory.”

“Hate-fueled crimes have no place in our society,” said U.S. Attorney
for the Central District of California Andre Birotte Jr. “No one should
have to look over their shoulder in fear because of who they are.
Incidents like the one described in the federal indictment prove that we
must remain vigilant to ensure that the rights of every single American
resident are protected at all times.”

“The Civil Rights Division will continue to protect the right of every
person who lives in this country to do so free of racially-based
violence and intimidation," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney
General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
“The Justice Department will not tolerate those individuals or gangs who
would prevent a family from living in a particular neighborhood simply
because of their race or the color of their skin.”

The indictment specifically alleges that on Dec. 31, 2012, Aguilar,
Marquez and a co-conspirator confronted an African-American juvenile,
who was walking on a street in Compton, and threatened him by referring
to themselves as “NKs.” The 17-year-old victim ran to his girlfriend’s
house, where three other African-American juveniles were located.
Aguilar and Marquez followed the 17-year-old victim to the home, yelled
racial slurs at the four juveniles at the residence, and demanded that
the African-Americans get out of the neighborhood.
Aguilar and Marquez then allegedly assaulted the 17-year-old
victim with a metal pipe and threatened another juvenile with a gun.

After the juveniles managed to escape and run into the house, the
indictment alleges that Aguilar and Marquez left the scene and informed
other gang members that the African-American juveniles lived in their
“territory.” Shortly thereafter, Aguilar and approximately 15 other gang
members went to the victims’ home and threatened them by yelling racial
slurs and warning the juveniles that they did not belong in the
neighborhood. During this time, a member of the gang smashed one of the
windows of the house.

“The FBI is committed to the protection of civil liberties,” said Bill
Lewis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field
Office. “No one should tolerate violence based on the color of their
skin or live in fear based on the hatred of others.”

“Hate crimes seriously threaten our society’s democratic
principles and affect the entire community,” said Los Angeles County
Sheriff Lee Baca. “We had one hate crime in Compton for 2012, but one is
too many. Tolerance is the key element of democracy.”

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a
crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven
guilty.

Aguilar and Marquez had been in state custody on unrelated charges. They
were transferred to federal custody early this morning and are expected
to be arraigned on the indictment this afternoon in U.S. District Court
in Los Angeles.

If convicted, Aguilar and Marquez each would face a statutory maximum
penalty of 10 years in prison for each of the five civil rights charges
alleged in the indictment.

The case against Aguilar and Marquez is the result of an ongoing
investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Reema El-Amamy
of the Violent and Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office
and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division of the
Department of Justice.